The Merced River at Pohono Bridge rose to above flood stage at 10 feet on May 16 and peaked above flood stage each day through May 31. The Merced River at Happy Isles rose to above flood stage at 8 feet on May 20 and peaked above flood stage each day through May 23.
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.
The Merced River at Pohono Bridge rose to above flood stage at 10 feet on May 16 and peaked above flood stage each day through May 31. The Merced River at Happy Isles rose to above flood stage at 8 feet on May 20 and peaked above flood stage each day through May 23.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 15, 12:23 PM PST, 11 hours 37 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 123 PM PDT Mon May 15 2023 .SYNOPSIS...Much warmer than normal temperatures will continue throughout the next week without much variation. Highs in the San Joaquin Valley are expected to remain 12-15 degrees above normal for this time of year. Warmer temperatures in the mountains has lead to increased river and stream flows due to melting snow, particularly in Yosemite National Park. Thunderstorms are also possible each afternoon in the Sierra Nevada Tuesday and Wednesday and again starting Saturday. && .DISCUSSION...A very warm airmass remains in place over our area today with little change from Sunday. A dry southwest flow aloft prevails as a result of a building ridge over the southwestern CONUS and a weak upper low over the PAC NW. The ridge is progged to strengthen along the western CONUS coast by midweek which will maintain much above normal temperatures across our area. The much warmer than normal temperatures have had an impact in the mountains regarding increased snow melt which has resulted in rising flows in rivers and streams. Most noticably this will impact the Merced River in Yosemite Park as is is expected to rise above flood stage at Pohono Bridge tonight and rise above flood stage at Happy Isles later this week. The majority of the medium range ensemble members are showing the ridge flattening some by the weekend, but the warm airmass will remain in place over our area into the early part of next week with a continuation of much above normal temperatures as NBM probabilistic guidance is indicating that maximum temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley have between a 45 and 65 percent chance of reaching 93 DEG F or higher on both Saturday and Sunday. A few showers and thunderstorms will be possible in the afternoon on Tuesday and Wednesday then again by the weekend over the Sierra Nevada. Dry weather will prevail across our area otherwise. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions will prevail throughout the Central CA interior for the next 24 hours. && .AIR QUALITY ISSUES...None. && .CERTAINTY... The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is high. The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is medium. Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.html for additional information and/or to provide feedback. && .HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Heat Advisory until 8 PM PDT this evening for CAZ301>307-309>312- 314>316. && public/aviation/fire wx...DAS pio/idss...JEB weather.gov/hanford
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Yosemite National Park Rangers reported that the Merced River exceeded its flood stage of 10 feet at Pohono Bridge between May 16 and May 31 and exceeded its flood stage of 8 feet at Happy Isles between May 20 and May 23.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2023
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1094761.